LR 73.1 Consent of parties. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c)(1), all full-time Magistrate Judges now or hereafter appointed in this district are hereby specially designated to conduct, upon the consent of the parties, any or all proceedings in any jury or nonjury civil matter and order the entry of judgment in the case.

LR 73.2 Clerk to Advise Parties. Using the Notice of Alternative Dispute Resolution and Case Management Procedures required by LR 16.7, the Clerk shall give written notice of the right of the parties to consent to disposition of the case by a United States Magistrate Judge. A form by which the parties may signify their consent to such jurisdiction shall be maintained by the Clerk and furnished to any party upon request. The consent form shall be in the form approved by the Court. 

LR 73.3 Time for and Scope of Consent.

(a) Each party who consents to exercise of the court's jurisdiction by a Magistrate Judge shall indicate that consent by filing with the Clerk the appropriate form.  Parties shall not communicate their consent, or withholding of consent, directly to a District Judge or a Magistrate Judge.  Consent to the exercise of the Court's jurisdiction by a Magistrate Judge does not waive a party's objection to any jurisdiction being exercised by the Court over it.

(b) Consent to disposition of the case by a Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c) must be communicated to the Clerk on the appropriate form within six months after commencement of the action or at least sixty (60) days prior to any scheduled trial date, whichever first occurs.

LR 73.4 Appeal from Judgment. Appeals from a judgment entered by a Magistrate Judge shall be to the court of appeals unless the parties have agreed, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c)(4) and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 73(d), that appeals are to be made to a District Judge, in which event the provisions of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 74 and 75 shall govern such appeals.

LR 73.5 Withholding Consent. If any party withholds its consent to the exercise of jurisdiction by a Magistrate Judge, the identity of the parties who consented or of those who withheld their consent shall not be disclosed to the District Judge or to a Magistrate Judge.  A District Judge or Magistrate Judge may thereafter remind the parties of the availability of a Magistrate Judge but, in so doing, shall also advise the parties that they are free to withhold their consent without adverse substantive consequences.

LR 73.6 Order of Reference.

(a) In the event the parties file a unanimous consent pursuant to this local rule, the Clerk shall immediately notify the presiding District Judge who will promptly (1) enter an order of reference to a Magistrate Judge, or (2) enter an order declining so to do; provided, however, the District Judges of the Court shall not decline to make an order of reference for the purpose of limiting the types of cases to be tried by the Magistrate Judge pursuant to this rule.  In making or in declining to make an order of reference, the presiding Judge may consider among other things, the current allocation of pending judicial business between the District Judges and the Magistrate Judges; the judicial economy, if any, to be gained by the reference as measured in part by the extent of prior judicial labor expended and familiarity accumulated in the case by the assigned Judge; the extent to which the Magistrate Judge may have time available to devote to the case giving due regard to the necessity of diligent performance of other judicial duties regularly assigned to the Magistrate Judges; and any other features peculiar to the individual case which suggest, in the interest of justice or judicial economy, that a reference should or should not be made.

(b) In any case in which an order of reference has been made, the Court may, for good cause shown on its own motion, or under extraordinary circumstances shown by any party, vacate the order of reference and restore the case to the calendar of the presiding District Judge.

LR 73.7 Additional Parties. If, after an order of reference has been made pursuant to subsection LR 73.6 of this rule, new or additional parties enter or join in the case pursuant to the operation of any statute, rule, or order of the Court, it shall be necessary for all parties to file with the Clerk within sixty (60) days after such joinder or at least sixty (60) days prior to any scheduled trial date, whichever first occurs, a new consent agreement pursuant to section LR 73.2 of this rule, failing which the order of reference shall be dissolved and the case returned to the calendar of the presiding District Judge; provided, however, any such dissolution of an order of reference shall not affect the validity of any order entered or other action taken by the Magistrate Judge prior to such dissolution.

LR 73.8 Forms for Consent. Specimens of the forms to be used to comply with the provisions of this rule are set forth in an appendix to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure as Forms 33, 34, and 34A.

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LR 74.  APPEAL TO DISTRICT JUDGE

LR 74.1 Records on Appeal. The record on appeal (from a decision of the Bankruptcy Court or the Magistrate Judge) submitted to any District Judge shall be numbered sequentially by page. Such record on appeal shall also have a contents page which may coincide with the order transmitting the record on appeal and directing the docketing of the appeal. In cases of appeals from orders of the Bankruptcy Judge, the record on appeal shall be prepared and pages numbered by the Bankruptcy Clerk. In cases on appeal from an order of a United States Magistrate Judge, the record on appeal shall be prepared and pages numbered at the direction of the Magistrate Judge.

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LR 79.1 Removal of Original Papers. Original papers in custody of the Clerk shall not be removed by anyone except the Judges, Magistrate Judges, official court reporters, special masters, or law clerks of the Judges who may remove original papers as may be necessary to expedite the business of the Court. Duplicate files of pleadings, if available, may be removed by counsel with the consent of the Clerk.

LR 79.2 Conditions of Removal. When papers are removed, they will not be permitted to be taken from the jurisdiction of the Court except when the original records are forwarded to the Court of Appeals in accordance with the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure.

LR 79.3 Original Transcripts. The original transcript of testimony and any record of proceedings filed with the Clerk of this Court by an official court reporter, or commissioner, shall not be removed from the office of the Clerk by counsel or the parties.

LR 79.4 Exhibits and Documents. All exhibits received or offered into evidence at any trial or hearing shall be retained by the Clerk, who shall keep them in custody, except that documents of unusual bulk or weight and physical exhibits other than documents shall be retained by counsel for safekeeping. All models, diagrams, books, or other exhibits other than contraband received in evidence or marked for identification in an action or proceeding shall be removed by the filing party at the expiration of the time for the filing of a Notice of Appeal, or if an appeal is filed, after the final adjudication of the action or proceeding and disposition of the appeal. Said exhibits if not so removed may be destroyed or otherwise disposed of as the Clerk may deem proper after ten days notice to counsel.

LR 79.5 Closed Files. All closed files of the Court may be forwarded to the federal records center serving this district. Thereafter, persons desiring use of any such files may, upon good cause shown, on an appropriate form furnished by the Clerk, request that such files be returned for examination in the Clerk's office.

LR 79.6 Civil Case Reports. On the first day of each month, the Clerk shall make a written report to the Court, listing each pending motion in all civil cases for each division by giving the name and civil action number, and indicating the date of filing and nature of each such motion.  These civil case reports will be available for review in the Clerk's Office.

LR 79.7 Sealed Documents.

(a) Papers submitted for filing with the Clerk may be placed under seal only where required by operation of law, these rules, or order of a judicial officer. 

(b)  Any person desiring to have any matter placed under seal shall present a motion stating grounds why a document filed with the Clerk should not be available for public inspection.  The Clerk shall: (i) docket the motion as a Motion to Seal; (ii) refrain from labeling the filing as "sealed"or identifying the person seeking the sealing order unless the person consents; (iii) designate any accompanying papers as "sealed matter"; and (iv) maintain the motion and accompanying papers in a secure file pending a ruling on the Motion to Seal. 

(c)  If the Motion to Seal is denied, any papers which the person sought to have sealed, and which were submitted to the Clerk with the motion, shall be returned to the person, who shall then have the option of filing the papers in the normal course.

(d) Motions to Seal may extend to three layers of information: (1) the name of the movant; (2) the title of the filing sought to be sealed; and (3) the contents of the filing itself.  In most cases, only the contents of the filing itself (e.g., proprietary data embodied within an in limine motion) will warrant sealing, not the title of the filing (e.g., Motion in Limine) or the identity of the movant (e.g., XYZ Tire Company).  Therefore, unless the Court specifies otherwise, the Clerk shall construe all sealing orders to extend only to the contents of the underlying filing.  The burden rests upon the moving party to justify all three sealing levels.

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